Lynn area focus of rehab plan

LYNN – In the most flattering terms, lower Washington Street is a dilapidated and neglected urban zone peppered with bars, vacant lots and an incongruous mix of businesses and homes.Imagine if it were lined with trees and smart, three-story buildings, retail establishments on the ground floor, offices or residences above, with sidewalk cafes and ornamental street lighting ? all within walking distance of the ocean. That’s the vision contained in the Washington Street Gateway District Plan, drafted and championed by Sasaki Associates in April 2008 but dormant ever since.Charles Gaeta, executive director of the Lynn Housing Authority and Neighborhood Development (LHAND), is taking steps to rekindle the plan and transform the strategically-located area that has potential to link the waterfront to Sagamore Hill.Working with the non-profit Neighborhood Development Association (NDA), formerly the city’s Community Development Housing Corp., Gaeta and the association have been quietly taking control of properties on Washington, Sagamore, Suffolk and other streets.The idea is to form an expanse of contiguous lots or buildings that can be redeveloped in accordance with the Sasaki plan and ultimately strengthen the entire neighborhood.”We have been working closely with the NDA Board of Directors,” said Gaeta. “We’re land-banking whatever we can, but we can’t buy everything. This whole neighborhood has to co-exist, so the overall plan is for mixed use, which includes businesses and affordable homes.”The NDA has already purchased the former Smuggler’s Cove Pub, a landmark brick building at the corner of Washington and Amity streets, as well as the vacant lot behind it. Other vacant lots were purchased in the triangle formed by Sagamore Street, Suffolk Street and Suffolk Court.”That piece is key,” said Peggy Phelps, LHAND assistant director of neighborhood development, referring to the triangle. “It’s the first phase of the whole project.”Dymes Redemption Center at 780 Washington St. is also part of the plan and city officials have approached the owner with a purchase offer, according to Gaeta and Lynn Economic Development and Industrial Corp. (EDIC) Executive Director James Cowdell.The bottle-and-can redemption center has long attracted a customer base of barrel-pickers and street people who can be frequently seen walking to the nearby bars to spend their proceeds. Cowdell, Gaeta and others have been trying to change that situation.”The Dyme’s building is a true non-conforming use,” said Gaeta, noting that the EDIC has been negotiating to buy it.”The Dyme’s building would likely be demolished if purchased because it serves no purpose in the overall neighborhood redevelopment plan, he said.Washington Street is also home to the Sand Bar, the Blue Note, Fran’s Place and the Pelican Pub, establishments with no redeeming architectural value. The former Smuggler’s Cove Pub is the exception.”Smuggler’s is a brick, flatiron building similar to the Four Stories flatiron building at the corner of Washington and Broad streets,” said Phelps. “It has historic value and isn’t in too bad condition, so it makes sense to save it.”Gaeta said the building could serve as an anchor for neighborhood redevelopment.”We aren’t talking about doing this 20 years down the road. It’s something attainable within the next few years,” he said.The entire lower Washington redevelopment area is framed by the Lynnway and Broad, Newhall and Washington streets. It ties directly into the Sagamore Hill neighborhood, where the quasi-city agencies have land-banked additional parcels.”Most of the old rooming houses on Newhall Street have already been updated,” said Gaeta. “We want to get grants to improve the facades of other buildings in the neighborhood. The more we do, the more the value of what’s there increases.”Gaeta noted that the NDA pays taxes or makes payments in lieu of taxes on all the properties it acquires.”The gateway plan is really a partnership that involves variou